Life-Long Learning

Life can be full of complications. Even if there are no huge trials going on in your life at the moment, still just everyday emotions and human existence come with challenges. That's me. I'm not going through any crazy life challenges right now. I'm alive and well, everyone I love is alive and well, I have a safe home, a good education, Andre and I are able to provide for ourselves, we have food on our table everyday, the list could go on and on. Yet, even though life is fairly simple and easy at the moment, I feel like I am constantly analyzing myself, and trying to right my wrongs, change my attitude, be a better wife, a better friend, a better family member, a better stranger, just a better person in general. That alone can make life complicated. I unfortunately fall prey to the natural man most of the time when dealing with emotions, and it is a constant battle for me to just show happiness in my everyday life! I honestly think that I just take things too seriously, and I over-think and complicate simple situations. I take things too personally and I worry too much about how other people see me. We'll also throw in there the fact that hunger makes me pretty cranky. Andre knows this all to well. And for some reason, I seem to be hungry all the time. haha

Andre and I are coming up on our 2-year wedding anniversary, and I am realizing that I am not as far along with my learning, changing and improving as I hoped to be at this point. I still get mad and offended by dumb little things. I show pride and selfishness constantly, and I easily try to place blame away from myself. Though these descriptions make me sound like an awful wife, I feel like I am ALWAYS analyzing my life and trying to be better, yet I'm still not even close to the person I'd ultimately like to be. Well, this is when I have to take it back a notch and look at it from an eternal perspective. 2 years. 2 YEARS! That's nothing! God does not expect perfection right now, and neither should you or I. It is a constant learning process, and will be for 50+ years to come. I am 24 years old, and if you think about 24 years on this earth, you'd think someone that's been doing something for 24 years should know what they are doing! Ya well, most of the time, I feel like I don't. But it's ok. If I live until I am 100, that means I'm not even 1/4 of the way done with my earthly life. That's nothing... again! I mean, I'm not even a mother yet, and once that phase starts, that'll be a whole new beginning to a life I have a hard time even comprehending right now. 

So, I started out this post feeling unsure of myself. Feeling doubtful, insecure and disappointed in who I've been. Well, yeah, I make mistakes, but it doesn't mean I'm a horrible person! Especially when I still have so much life and learning ahead of me, and everyday hands me something new. If we were supposed to be perfect and know everything by the time we were 24, there would be no reason to live until we're 100. None of this gives us a reason to give up on ourselves and stop improving or justify our mistakes, but it does give us a chance to realize that we are all human and that God gives us learning experiences on purpose. So, I guess the next time I want to be hard on myself and tell myself that I'm a bad wife, a bad person, or not good enough, I'll just have to chill and remember to take life one day at a time. You should too :) 

Another Move, More Changes, An Exciting Future!

I have felt like for the past couple years, well let's be honest, for the past 6 years, it's been move after move, change after change, new job after new job. This time, it's been a familiar change, but still a change. Since Andre and I have been married, almost 1 year and 8 months, we have moved 4 times. When we started off, it was back to Rexburg. Then Andre decided he wanted to change his career path. So, we left Rexburg in April 2014, never to return (Now, let's remember that I graduated in April 2013, and left not knowing if I'd ever be coming back, because Andre and I were still dating and hadn't made any commitment to marriage yet. So that's twice now that I left Rexburg thinking it'd be my last time). Then we moved to Sacramento, California until September, where Andre worked as a door-to-door sales rep for Ecoshield Pest Control. After that, we moved to Twin Falls, Idaho, where we were planning to stay for 3 years so that Andre could apply to the Rad-tech program at CSI, where he would study for 2 years, then we'd move to Boise so he could finish up with his Bachelor's in Sonography at BSU. That meant he'd be in school for another 4 years, and that's the plan we were sticking to. Then, in January of this year, something changed in Andre, and he decided that he didn't want to go down that path anymore. So he started researching other options. That brought us back to Rexburg, once again, so that he can study Occupational Safety and Health. He'll graduate with his Bachelor's Degree next April 2016.

So, for now, that's what we are sticking with. Andre seems content with his choice, and I am just trying to be a supportive wife as he figures out what he wants to do for the rest of his life, career-wise. I have to be honest, at first, the thought of moving back to Rexburg was... well let's just say, I wasn't too excited. I LOVED Rexburg while I was going to school, and was very sad to leave, but by now, I was over it and had moved on. I felt like, in a way, going back to Rexburg was a step backwards. But, as we prayed about our decision, and took the steps to go forward with the move, I started to feel better about the idea. To be honest, neither Andre or I were super in love with Twin Falls, and had been thinking about other options, but I never thought it would come to this: moving back to Rexburg, for like the 5th time for me, I might add. I just can't seem to get enough apparently!

Since we've moved back, it's been about a week and a half. School started this last Monday, and I am proud to say that I am taking a Spanish class on campus! One thing is to think I would never live in Rexburg again, but I am a BYU-Idaho student again after 2 years, which is something I seriously never even imagined would happen. It is definitely a funny feeling walking around campus with a backpack on and looking like every other normal student, when I know that I already went through all that! haha But, I must say, I am happy and extremely excited to learn spanish! I am blessed to have this opportunity and the time and money to learn the Spanish language, and will hopefully, one day fairly soon, be able to communicate with all of my spanish-speaking friends and family! I can't wait! I am especially excited for the next time we go to Ecuador, so that I can actually understand what's going on! I think going to Ecuador was what hit me the most. I realized that marrying Andre brought a huge amount of new people into my life, many of whom don't speak much English, if any at all, and I realized how truly important it is for me to be able to speak their language. Many of these people have been influential in Andre's life, and it is so important to me to be able to communicate with them!

As for jobs, Andre was able to transfer with Syringa Wireless in Twin Falls, to the store here in Rexburg, He works Monday-Friday here, and then works at the store in Idaho Falls every Saturday. In addition to that, of course he is also a full-time student. Boy, do I love that man. He knows how to work and he's not afraid of it. He does what needs to get done, without complaining a bit. For me, I don't currently have a job, but am in the process of finding one. I have a few things that may be possibilities, but haven't really panned out, so we'll see. Right now, I am focusing on learning spanish quickly and effectively, as well as getting back into a daily exercise routine, which I might add, I missed SO MUCH while living in Twin Falls. That's another blessing of being at BYU-I; a free gym and indoor track that are in walking distance from our apartment. I love it. Andre and I were both super excited to come back just for that. haha

Well, I think that's about it. I am so excited to see what this year has in store for us. We are looking forward to having my parents come up and stay with us for about 4-5 days in May, and we can't wait to show them our cute new apartment and spend some much needed time with them. We are so grateful for God's plan for us and are ready to keep going with whatever he throws at us. Happy Spring Everybody!

Love,
Wendy

2014 In Review

Once again, it's time for my year-end post. When I think back on 2014, there aren't too many experiences that stick out to me as unforgettable, but as I've been thinking a little harder and digging a little deeper, I've been able to think of some experiences that actually were pretty awesome. So here goes:

1. When Andre took the day off from work and surprised me with a day trip to San Francisco for my 23rd birthday! Up until the night before, I was thinking that Andre was gonna be going to work just like any other normal day, and my birthday was going to be pretty lame, but as we were laying in bed the night of the 16th, he turned to me and said, "so, I have to work in San Francisco tomorrow... and you're coming with me" haha. So, we got up fairly early the next morning, made a stop at the Black Bear Diner for some delicious breakfast, then made our way to San Francisco where we went to Ghirardelli Square, the Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39, Chinatown, and then just drove around and looked at the cool houses in the city. It was such a great day spent with a great husband. :)

2. When my mom came to visit Sacramento. My mom means so much to me, and every time I move somewhere new, I love to share it with her. It was so great of her to make the trip up to Sacramento to spend some time with me and Andre. It also happened to be just a few days after her birthday, so we surprised her with a birthday cake and a present the night she arrived. Throughout the time she was there, we did some pretty awesome things. We went to Calaveras Big Trees State Park, Downtown Sacramento and toured a historical mansion (I don't remember what it was for or what it was called, but it was cool), we went on a day trip to a cool little town called Sutter Creek where we ate some super delicious sandwiches,  and then she even came to my yoga class with me one day. My mom is the best, and I love her so much!

3. The summer in Sacramento, California. Ok, so this is more than one experience, but it is definitely a summer that sticks out as unique for us. For me, it was basically a summer full of exercising, yoga, swimming, watching netflix, socializing and exercising some more. I went to the zoo, the pool almost every week probably, we went golfing, bowling, swimming, hot tubbing, camping in our living room, picnicking, you name it! I for one, did so many fun things, with lots of time to relax and just watch netflix too! Andre on the other hand worked long, hard days and weeks with some fun here and there. We had very different summers, but I think we can both say it was a summer to remember.

4. Visiting home in April. Basically anytime I get to go home to Prescott and spend time with my parents is a favorite experience of mine. I have such fun parents to hang out with! I love the conversations we have, the jokes my dad makes, the games we play, the food we eat, everything! One thing that sticks out to me from our trip in April is playing Boggle with mom and Andre. One of us must have said something super funny, or came up with a ridiculous word, and I just remember all 3 of us laughing our heads off for about 3 minutes. It was the hardest I have laughed in a long time. We also played a version of the newlywed game with my parents, and it was awesome! Then we went on a couple different hikes around Prescott and just enjoyed the great outdoors :)

5. I don't know if it's lame that 2 out of 5 experiences involve spending time in Prescott, and 3 out of 5 involve my mom, but what can I say? I guess we know what I love. haha For Christmas we went back to Prescott again. My parents showed us a bunch of the Christmas stuff around town, we got to spend Christmas day with all of my brothers with Eric on Skype, we played games, ate yummy food, drank hot chocolate in a freezing cold Ihop, and then I even got to spend some time with my life long bestie, Michelley! :) I love her so much, and it was so awesome seeing her and her daughters! Also, did I mention that this trip was a surprise for my dad and my little brother. My dad's reaction was priceless. It was so fun! :)